We couldnt find what you were looking for. click options for more ways to search

• 1. Ensure that your search options are set to look in Values, not Formulas.
• 2. Ensure you don’t have multiple cells selected.
• 3. Ensure “Match entire cell contents” is deselected.

In Excel, you may sometimes find yourself facing a frustrating fault in the program that disrupts your work. One common problem is the failure of Excel’s “CTRL+F” search shortcut. This issue must be corrected in order for you to proceed with your project.

Start off by opening the file with your data. We have created sample data below to demonstrate the process.

Let’s look at a few ways we can solve this problem.

1. Ensure that your search options are set to look in Values, not Formulas.

1. Press the “CTRL+F” key combination on your keyboard. 

2. When the dialog box appears, enter the data you need to find in the “Find what” line.

3. Choose the “Value” option in the “Look in” dropdown list.

4. Click the “Find Next” button.

As easy as that! You have successfully found the data.

2. Ensure you don’t have multiple cells selected.

While working in Excel, you may accidentally—or intentionally—select multiple cells.

This may be one of the reasons why you are not able to find the cell with the data you need: the program is only searching the selected cells. In this case, the only step you need to do is to deselect the cells. Simply click on an empty cell to release the selection you have made. That’s it! Now your search should work as expected.

3. Ensure “Match entire cell contents” is deselected.

Another reason why the “CTRL+F” search shortcut may not work is if the “Match entire cell contents” option is selected. Here is a quick and easy way to resolve this problem:

1. Press the “CTRL+F” key combination. 

2. Type the data you need to find in the “Find what” line.

3. Uncheck the “Match entire cell contents”option.

4. Click the “Find Next” button.

There you have it! The problem is solved.

Quirks are a common occurrence in life and especially when working with computers. The “CTRL+F” search shortcut in Excelis a handy tool that can help you quickly find the data you need. However, there will be times when things don’t work the way you expect. If you find yourself wondering why the CTRL+F function isn’t working, remember the suggestions in this article. You’ll soon resolve the issue and be on your way.

Joe4

MrExcel MVP, Junior Admin

• #2

Are you doing this through VBA or just the Find/Replace functionality directly on the Worksheet?
Do you have the "Match Case" or "Match Entire Cell Contents" Advanced Options checked?

Joe4

MrExcel MVP, Junior Admin

• #4

I'm trying to use find and replace but the error I'm receiving says "we couldn't find anything to replace. Click options for more ways to search"

Note that really isn't an error, per se, it is just telling you that it is not finding any matches to replace.

Note that data dumped from other places often needs cleaning up. It will often have extra spaces or characters that will cause issues.
One easy way to tell. Find one of the values you are looking to replace on your sheet. Let's say it is the word "Dog" and it is in cell C11.
Enter this formula anywhere on your sheet and see what it returns:

If it does not return TRUE, then it really isn't a match. There is something "extra" in that cell.

Have a look here at another thread currently going on which may be the same issue. It shows some techniques for identify and fixing the issues.
http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/excel-questions/983925-excel-not-reconizing-text.html

Joe4

MrExcel MVP, Junior Admin

• #6

Did you find out what those things are? Spaces? Special Characters?

You can use LEN, LEFT, RIGHT, and MID functions to hone in on exactly where the special characters exist. Many times they are at the end.
(So you could use a formula like =RIGHT(A1,1) to get just the last character)

If it is a space or special invisible character, that function above will not appear to return anything. However, you can find out exactly what it is by finding its ASCII code like this:
=CODE(RIGHT(A1,1))

This will return a number, specifically the ASCII code. You can then look it up on any ASCII table (like this one here: ASCII Code - The extended ASCII table).
Once you know what you have, you can figure out how to clean it, using the methods described in posts #3 or #5 here: http://www.mrexcel.com/forum/excel-questions/983925-excel-not-reconizing-text.html

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